Blast From the Past
by Mia Sedai
Summary: Sometime during Prisoner of Azkaban Remus gets an unexpected visit. missing moment COMPLETE


A/N: This is inspired by a picture I saw of Remus as portrayed by David Thewlis. The whole mustache thing really doesn't do it for me. Remus and his furry little problem. Hehe.. Anyway. This is a slash fic, meaning it involves romantic relations with two people of the same gender. If it isn't your thing then I suggest you just don't read it.  
Disclaimer: JK's, not mine.

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"What's with the mustache?"

Remus Lupin looked up from the paper he was correcting so quickly that he was sure he must have strained his neck for now and into eternity. The voice that had spoken was that of a young boy, no more than sixteen, and full of quiet mirth. It was also one that Remus thought he would never hear again, but one he knew better than he cared to admit.

"Who's there?" he asked into the darkness of his office. He had been so absorbed in the papers in front of him that he hadn't even noticed how the night had descended on the castle, and that the only light was that on his desk.

No one answered, so he looked more closely. He had been through enough to know that just because someone couldn't be seen, that didn't necessarily mean they weren't there. There was no sound, though, so he sighed and shook his head, returning to the paper in front of him. His neck was still aching, but he decided to finish the now almost empty stack in front of him before retiring for the night.

After a few moments he was disrupted again, though, by the same voice, and this time Remus knew he had to go crazy. Because in front of him stood a sixteen-year-old Sirius Black, and he was grinning in a way Remus had tried to forget was possible.

"Wow, Moony," Sirius was saying, "I always knew you were cut out for the Professor job."

Remus flinched at the old nickname, but he didn't reply, only stared at the boy.

"Who are you?" he said carefully.

For a moment the young boy looked a little hurt, but he shrugged it off, then walked up to Remus' desk and jumped up to sit on it so that he was facing Remus. He dangled his feet across the floor, while he scrutinized Remus in a way that made him feel entirely transparent, but also a little crazy. He had to be more affected from the last moon than he had inititally thought.

"Don't you recognize me, Moony?" Sirius said. "No, I guess you wouldn't, it has been a while, hasn't it? But then, you never were one to forget things. You _are_ Moony, aren't you?"

Remus nodded carefully. "I am, but no one has called me that in almost twelve years."

Sirius laughed, and the sound made something catch fire in Remus' stomach, something he was sure was dead and buried years ago.

"So we grew out of it then, did we? Hmm, that's weird. I never thought it would come to that. Of course Prongs, I mean James, does sometimes say we are getting too old for silly nicknames. He only says that when Lily is around, though, the stupid sod. When will he ever realise that she sees right through him? That woman is not going to be fooled by some sudden grown-up-ness. She has hated him thus far, why should she ever stop that? Sensible woman, really."

Whenever Remus later thought about this particular moment, it wasn't his desire to correct Sirius' grammar he remembered, althought that urge was rather strong; but it was how right it all sounded, just as if they were both sixteen years old and sitting in the Gryffindor common room, with Sirius going on one of his rants about how James really was _no fun_ any more, and how he wished Lily would just _bugger off_, and that girls were _such_ a waste of time. From one of the chairs next to theirs Peter would note that to Sirius girls had never been much fun anyway, so he wouldn't understand. And then Sirius would retort that it didn't look like Peter got all fawned over, either, did it? and at least he himself had the balls to admit he was an enormous kind of poofter. At this Peter would stutter something about 'homework' and 'stupid shirt-lifters', and then James would demand to know why on earth weren't they talking about _him_ anymore? and the whole thing would repeat itself until they were all so tired of arguing that they just called it off and trudged back to their dorms, sleepy and happy.

"Moony?" The Sirius on the desk was looking at him in apparent amusement.

"Yes?" Remus replied.

"Well thank you for coming back to me." He flashed him a grin. "Are you quite allright?"

Remus wondered what on earth he was to say to something like that. He had no idea if this was just a figment of his imagination, or if it actually was sixteen-year-old Sirius who had found a way to travel in time and had come to visit. For some reason the latter didn't upset him as much as he would have expected it to. He really should be furious. This man had betrayed his best friends, had promised Remus the world and then snatched it away before he ever got a chance to explore it. And yet the ache in his chest didn't hurt as much as he had expected it to, and once again that little part in his head that refused to believe Sirius was guilty was trying to break free.

"I'm fine," Remus settled with saying. "Just a little tired." He motioned towards the papers on his desk.

"Ah," Sirius said as he turned his head to look where Remus had pointed. "Papers. I guess you have to do that now. Being a Professor and all." His eyes glinted with familiar mischief. "Are they any good?"

"Some of them are," Remus replied truthfully. _And some of them make me want to throw myself off the North Tower._

"Can I see?" The eager grin on Sirius' face made Remus smile a little, too. He had missed that smile, and although it was painful to acknowledge it, it was also a little good to know. They had been pretty close, after all, and it made Remus happy to know that at least on his part the feelings had been genuine.

"No," Remus said and turned the one in front of him upside down. For a brief moment the words 'Harry Potter' showed itself, and Remus prayed to anyone that would listen that Sirius hadn't seen that. He really didn't care to explain what James' son was doing in school. Knowing Sirius, he would want to go take a look, and that really was more than Remus could handle right now.

"So Moony," Sirius said instead, "you never answered me on why on earth you are wearing that ridiculous thing across your lip. Have I seen that? I mean, the present me? And what about the others? What do they think? Don't tell me that's the latest fashion now. But then you never were the fashionable one. No offense of course."

"None taken," Remus replied dryly.

"But really. Where is everyone? We didn't leave you to fend for yourself, did we?"

When Remus didn't answer, because he quite frankly had no idea what to say, Sirius' grin slowly started to fade.

"Did we?" he repeated.

Remus took a deep breath. "Sirius," he began, then stopped to think. What was he going to say? He couldn't very well tell this boy that in about five years' time he would betray his best friend and his wife, get his other friend killed along with twelve unsuspecting Muggles, and that he had very much left him to fend for himself. "I can't tell you," was the only thing he said. It was safest that way.

The pout on Sirius' face really wasn't unexpected. Sirius was Gryffindor Champion of Moodswings, and it was all Remus could do not to roll his eyes.

"Why not?" Sirius demanded.

"I'm sure that's obvious, isn't it?"

"Not to me, it isn't. _Professor_ Moony."

Remus sighed. "Sirius you know that time travel is a highly uncertain kind of magic. If I told you what has happened between your time and this, who knows what can happen? You might try to change things, and then the whole past may unravel itself, and everything will go haywire."

Sirius looked thoughtful for a moment. "Just tell me _something_? I promise I won't unravel time, and change the past. I do like haywire, though."

Remus smiled. "I know you do," he said fondly, "that's why I'm not telling you."

"You're no fun, Moony," Sirius said, but the pout was more a smile than anything now. The Champion of Moodswings, indeed.

"I'm very sorry," Remus said. "You'll just have to wait and see, won't you? And yes, I also know that you are no good at waiting."

Sirius closed his open mouth. When he opened it again, he said "so you still do that, though?"

"Do what?"

"Take the words out of my mouth."

Remus' gaze rested on the gray eyes of the boy in front of him. He wanted to say so much. Wanted to demand why he had done what he had done. Wanted to ask him why he had promised him so much, then gone off and ruined everything. They had been happy, hadn't they? But then, Remus thought, the kind of happiness provided by Lord Voldemort was probably a lot more persuasive than that offered by a stupid boy in love.

"Sirius," Remus said quietly and looked straight into Sirius' face. The young smiling face of a boy who still knew how to laugh, how to cry, and most importantly, how to love. The face that would turn into that of a raging lunatic, known beyond the borders of the world they both belonged to. Known, not because of his brilliance, but because of his madness. "I really shouldn't be talking to you, you know. You see,-" he took a deep breath. Later he would probably hate himself for what he was about to say. "Things happen, all right? Between then and now. You… I can't tell you the details, but a lot of bad things will happen. Very bad things."

"With us?" It came out quickly, but from the way it was said Remus knew that this time the word 'us' included only the two of them. Just the two of them – who they used to be, and who they were now.

Remus nodded, suddenly feeling very tired. "Yes."

"But…" Sirius stammered. "I don't understand."

"Neither do I," Remus replied truthfully.

Sirius was staring at him intently now. He looked unsure of what to say. "Do we… you know… ever… like…"

Remus smiled at the stuttering, then nodded again. "We do."

The relief that flooded into Sirius' eyes made Remus' heart beat a little faster. The boy in front of him was sixteen years old, and when they talked it wasn't entirely unlike some of the conversations he had had with his students. And that didn't really change, but this younger version of Sirius made him long for days long gone, and he found himself thankful that he at least had been happy for a period of time, no matter how short.

"You know," Sirius said, "I'd kiss you, but you really are too old for me, and that little piece of fur on your upper lip doesn't exactly look inviting."

Remus couldn't help but laugh at this. He could feel warmth flooding his heart, because he knew now that it had all been worth it. They may not have a future together, but the past had given him more good memories than some people got from a lifetime.

"I appreciate that," Remus replied with a tender smile. "I don't know how it would look if I was caught kissing a sixteen-year-old."

Sirius cracked a grin and jumped down from the desk. He turned towards Remus. "Just because I don't want to kiss you, though, doesn't mean that I will go entirely unkissed."

"I'm glad," Remus said. "I believe there is someone back there who is desperately waiting for you to make the first movie."

Sirius nodded. "I believe so, too. I've just never been sure."

"You don't ever have to doubt that, Sirius. He will never not want you to kiss him."

Sirius' face suddenly got serious again. "You're still my Moony, though, right?"

Remus sighed and thought of the man this innocent boy would one day become. He thought of his betrayal, of his mad laughter as they brought him in, and of how he was now on the run, a band of Dementors and the entire wizarding world looking for him.

"Yes, Padfoot. I will always be your Moony."

And although Sirius didn't understand just what those words meant for the present-day them, he did understand the gravity of it, and he nodded.

"That's what I thought. Now if you will excuse me I have some unattended business I need to take care of. It was a pleasure meeting you, Professor Moony. I will see you soon." And then he gave a mock curtsy, pulled out something shiny from the pocket of his robes, and with a wink he was gone.

"Sirius where on earth have you been? I've been looking all over for you!"

When Sirius walked into the Gryffindor Common Room he was met by a not very happy Moony. The grumpy look on his face didn't throw Sirius off guard, though. And instead of replying he only grinned in his most seducing manner, threw his hands around Remus' neck, and kissed him thoroughly. When they broke apart Sirius was grinning more than ever, and Remus looked slightly dazed.

"What was that all about?" Remus demanded, but he didn't look upset. Quite the contrary.

Sirius shrugged. "I talked to this man and he said some things and… well, I guess you could say it was about time."

Remus laughed, and the sound of it made Sirius want to cry with happiness. He had made Moony happy. _His_ Moony.

"You're my Moony, aren't you?" he asked impishly, suddenly feeling a little shy.

Remus nodded, and put his arms around Sirius' waist. "I've always been your Moony. It's just that you didn't know it." And they kissed again.


End file.
